How to Get a Literary Agent

by Michael Larsen

Written by a top literary agent who gives writers an insider's view of how to find and work with an agent throughout the process of getting published.

-- How to know that you're ready for an agent
-- 7 ways to find an agent
-- Writing a cover letter that grabs attention
-- What to do with an agent once you've got one
-- What you can expect and what you'd better not hope for
-- Making sure this is the right agent for you
-- Congratulations, now you have an agent AND an editor
-- How to avoid the 7 worst pitfalls for aspiring writers
-- And much, much more.

In today's highly competitive publishing industry, literary agents are more important than ever. Whether you write fiction or non-fiction, reference or children's books, here is everything you need to know about using an agent to launch and sustain your literary career.a

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction

327 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2006

About the author

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Reviews

[Tony Riches · Rating 4 out of 5]

There has never been a better time to be a writer. That’s the view of Literary Agent Michael Larsen.

I can sum up the main point of the book by saying it will really help if you can look at life from the agent’s point of view. After reading Michael’s book I feel better able to do that and recommend it to anyone who is serious about being published. He makes a good point that ‘you don’t really need an agent any more than you need a dentist, as you can probably fill your own teeth.’

One surprise was there is no mention at all of ebooks, twitter, Google+ etc. Written on 1996, my copy was a 2006 reprint and I found it really refreshing to return to a world of ‘proper’ printed books.

I also enjoyed Michael’s literary wit and cleverly chosen quotes. He has some great one line rejection notes, my favourites include ‘I thought you’d like to see what some fool is sending out under your name’ ‘We cannot use the paper you sent us. You wrote on it’ and ‘to save time we are sending you two rejection slips, one for this story and one for the next one you send us.’

Some of the statistics he quotes about rejection are not so funny for aspiring writers. His own agency selects about 1% of their submissions. We all know about J.K. Rowling being rejected ten times but did you know that British author John Creasy had seven hundred and seventy four rejections before having over five hundred books published?

Finally, all writers would do well to consider Michael Larsen’s advice on how to get published: ‘Write well and often, remember one page a day is a book a year and make your agent, your editor and your readers eager to see your next book.’

[Horton Deakins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this, and I thought it made a lot of sense, but I took off one star because what he failed to say was YOU HAVE TO BE PREPARED TO SEND OUT 500 QUERY LETTERS AND WAIT UNTIL HELL FREEZES OVER TO GET A POSITIVE RESPONSE. Then you have to wait another year to get a bite from a publisher, or perhaps the agent will tell you after a year that you need to write something else because he can't sell your first book, or if he does sell it, the publisher will then take another year to get the book ready for print, and the publisher will expect you to do most, if not all, of the publicity for the book, which could easily cost more than any pittance of an advance you may or may not have gotten, and now you have no time left to write that second book that might not be able to ride the wave of the first book because the first book flopped, or was never even printed, or perhaps you did write the second book, and no one wants it because the first one flopped, and, and, shall I go on? Do you really CARE how to get a literary agent? Do you really want to punish yourself that way, and subject yourself to the hundreds of abrubt, rude rejections that may take 90 days just to get back to you, if at all, and only if you included an envelope with return postage? Do you have any idea how many agents out there won't even take unsolicited queries? And don't even think about trying to sidestep the agents to go directly to the publishers, because no major publisher will accept unagented material. Even if you get past all these obstacles, God bless you, get ready to have yer baby called ugly and have to make changes that you wouldn't have otherwise even considered doing.
It ain't worth it, folks. Faggettaboutit. If you write something good, just give it away for free.

[Nazire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well written book with a lot of insight, advice and an understanding of the "rules of the game". It could have been organized better, but the organization isn't entirely terrible.

There is a strong voice and the anecdotes makes it fun to read. I read about a chapter a day without getting the feeling that I just wasn't retaining anything.

I don't particularly like the attitude most literary agents adopt, but I've come to understand that it is undeniable. Unfortunately Mr. Larsen is no exception. However, he gives great detail on what you must do for your query to be taken seriously, great insight on the submission and publication process which are necessary for any writer seriously considering submitting queries. He highlights the necessity of self-promotion because publishers are just not willing to do it anymore. We don't have to agree with it, but at least we get a fair warning from Mr. Larsen. I also love the advice that work on your writing. No matter what you do, what gets your manuscript accepted is your writing. I find this refreshing and well, somewhat comforting.

This is a definitive, one stop book regarding agents and queries. There are obviously hundreds of book on the topic, but you can save yourself time and money by just reading through this, and going over it before you start the literary agent shop time.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book after attending the San Francisco Writer's Conference, organized annually by Mr. Larsen and his wife, who own a literary agency. Mr Larsen is street-smart and funny, fast with a quip and shrewd. Now, I wish he had become my agent, but that may very well have been a wise choice on his part :-)

The book describes a lot about the book business that any aspiring wirter needs to know. As a writer, you must fall in love with your book - you have to do so, or else you would never see it to adulthood. But when it gets to the point of being published, the writer is then left with a mystery: what next? It is a shock to realize that under capitalism, there is *nobody in charge* of the book business; the decisions to publish or promote are made by a conglomeration of people who see the books in a very different way than the author does. And so, every author needs to learn about this.

Mr Larsen draws the veil that hides this from public view, in an entertaining and educational way. bravo!

Mr. Larsen's "pitch workshop" at the SFWC was, in and of itself, worth the price of admission I paid for the whole event.

[Tom M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily the best all-around book on the subject that I've read. Larsen does a great job of exhaustively covering all aspects of his subject without leaving the reader exhausted. His writing style is direct but his material is delivered with a touch of humor. As an agent, he takes his business seriously; as a writer, he takes it seriously, but not overly seriously.

Highly, highly recommended.

[R.L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I met Michael Larsen and liked him so I bought his book. It is a chatty, friendly book that makes one believe that the job of getting a literary agent might be like the job of making a five-layer cake. He is thorough in his explanations and he shares several great tips, which sounded like common sense to me. If you are just starting out and thinking of getting an agent, it is probably a good book to read.

[SLT]

I give it no stars, not because it was no good, but because how do you rate a "how to" without putting its precepts into practice? Have I found a literary agent yet? No. Could the book be helpful in assisting me to find one? Possibly. When I get my literary agent, and make my millions, I shall return and edit my star-rating accordingly.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful and motivating. I also appreciated the light touch and humor afforded a subject that is very serious to me. It helped me to get a grip and gain some needed perspective. I'm looking forward to the next book I bought of his: How to Write a Book Proposal.

[Kourtnie McKenzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The problem with books on how to get literary agents is that I believe agents have individual preferences. The material in this book conflicted several times with information I have read on agent blogs. This is great for if you want to query Michael Larsen, though!

[Nick Woodall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well organized and full of good information.

[Sylvester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad book if you are trying to find an agent to help you publish your book. It offers some tips and advice plus some overview of the industry.